Chapter 729 - 729: Awakening

Near the crystal coffin.

Over twenty Sect Disciples from the Four Sects were fighting. The glow of their Primordial Power and Soul Techniques illuminated a large area.

However, at that moment, some of them were suddenly struck dumb with astonishment.

They saw that within the illuminated area, it seemed as if… countless giant bugs had appeared out of thin air!

"Th-that's… so many giant bugs. I'm not seeing things, am I…?"

A Fifth-level Martial King from the Purple Cloud Sect couldn't help but rub his eyes, the glow of Primordial Power around his body dimming.

About fifty meters away, his opponent, a Fifth-level Martial King from the Saint Extreme Sect, seized the opportunity to snatch a ball of Blood Aura from the ground nearby.

His Primordial Power dispersed the Blood Aura, revealing a Crimson Crystal within.

"Hahaha, another one! I've struck it rich! This time, I've really hit the jackpot!"

The Fifth-level Martial King from the Saint Extreme Sect laughed maniacally.

But just then, the fastest of the giant bugs had already rushed up behind him. It raised the front third of its body, opened its massive maw, and swallowed his entire upper half in one bite.

The Saint Extreme Sect's Fifth-level Martial King panicked instantly. He instinctively fought back, the Sword Aura on his longsword flaring as he ran the giant bug clean through.

However, the giant bug paid it no mind. Its body continued to writhe, and its mouth kept chewing relentlessly.

A moment later, it had swallowed the Fifth-level Martial King whole.

"I-I wasn't seeing things! It's real! There really is a swarm of bugs!!"

The Fifth-level Martial King from the Purple Cloud Sect cried out in alarm. His face went deathly pale, and without a second thought, he turned and fled, completely forgetting about the Crimson Crystal less than a hundred meters away.

Just within his field of vision, there were already over a hundred of the giant bugs.

And a steady stream of them kept pouring out of the darkness. There was no telling just how many giant bugs were in the swarm!

The rustling of the advancing swarm and the RUMBLING sound of the giant bugs shaking the ground quickly drew everyone's attention.

In the swarm's initial assault, nearly half of the twenty-plus Sect Disciples—those closer to the center—were instantly submerged and devoured, leaving not even a bone behind.

The luckier ones, the dozen or so remaining on the outskirts, were scared out of their wits and scrambled away, crawling and stumbling as they fled.

At this moment, no one was more regretful than the few people from Deng Xuan and Qi Hao's teams who hadn't fled with them earlier.

Their reason had been clouded by the immense treasures before them, and they had thought Chu Qingyun was just spouting nonsense. How could there possibly be giant bugs?

They never expected that a swarm would actually pour out from within.

And just as the crowd began to flee for their lives, the colossal bug lit up its distinctive, massive single eye. Illuminated by the scattered Blood Auras, its enormous and hideous silhouette was revealed.

The colossal bug was extremely fast.

It charged forward recklessly, ignoring all obstacles. Here in this Underground Space, its speed was even greater than that of a sixth-level Martial King.

At this rate, the colossal bug would catch up to the last dozen or so Sect Disciples in an instant, crushing them to pieces and swallowing them whole.

However, as the colossal bug approached the corpse of Venerable Thousand Blood, which Chu Qingyun had discarded earlier, it suddenly recoiled as if it had received a terrible fright.

Not only did it bring its body to an abrupt halt, but it also began to tremble and back away, shuddering.

After retreating for a moment, it seemed to muster its courage and shuffled forward a few steps.

Venerable Thousand Blood had been dead for over two thousand years.

Now, with even the last dregs of his Primordial Power and Martial Soul Power having been squeezed out, the corpse was naturally motionless and unresponsive.

After waiting another moment, the colossal bug grew excited.

It lunged at Venerable Thousand Blood's corpse, its maw gaping, and swallowed it in a single gulp.

But because of this delay, everyone else had already gotten far away.

The swarm had been briefly held up by the unlucky few Sect Disciples. The remaining dozen or so survivors were all desperately using various Secret Techniques, mustering every last ounce of their strength to escape.

Seeing the swarm gradually falling behind, unable to catch up, the colossal bug grew furious.

It once again raised the front part of its body, opened its giant mouth, and let out that strange, furious roar.

The resounding roar quickly spread throughout the entire Underground Space.

This time, however, its roar seemed to have a peculiar rhythm to it, unlike a purposeless, vent-like bellow.

After that one roar, the colossal bug set off again, crushing everything in its path as it rapidly gave chase.

What no one knew was…

…that after the colossal bug's roar, in the deepest darkness on both sides of the Underground Space, giant bugs began to awaken one by one, slowly opening the eyes on the sides of their bodies.

Chu Qingyun's group of six, having been the first to leave, were at the very front of the fleeing crowd. Their path had been smooth, and they hadn't encountered any obstacles.

Soon, however, several giant bugs charged out from the darkness to their side. Staring with two rows of dark red, circular eyes, they rushed toward the six of them.

"Lightning Sword!"

"Surprise Wave Palm!"

"Cloud-Breaking Finger!"

The six of them attacked instantly. The moment the giant bugs appeared, they were blasted to pieces.

The smaller bugs that burst out were also completely crushed by a wave of a sixth-level Martial King's tyrannical Primordial Power before they could even scatter and pounce.

However, they hadn't gotten far before another wave of giant bugs charged at them from the side.

A few giant bugs even rushed out from ahead, rearing up the front third of their bodies and opening their maws wide, as if threatening Chu Qingyun's group, or perhaps waiting for them to deliver themselves right into their mouths.

Chu Qingyun couldn't help but wonder, 'Strange, where did all these bugs come from?'

Just then, Deng Xuan, not far beside him, looked startled and said in a panicked voice, "It's not just in front! There are a lot of giant bugs behind us, too! We're surrounded!"

The other five turned their heads, and their expressions changed drastically.

Just as Deng Xuan had said, a large number of giant bugs had already gathered behind their group of six. They were now clustered together in a tight mass, chasing closely after them.

"I'll take the ones in front. You guys handle the ones on the sides!" Chu Qingyun said after a moment of thought.

The few giant bugs in front were the most troublesome. They were too close, and if they were blown up, the smaller bugs would immediately pounce on them.

The ones on the sides were a bit farther away, allowing for more reaction time.

Therefore, Chu Qingyun decided to personally deal with the few giant bugs in front.

His strength was perhaps the weakest among them, but when dealing with these disgusting giant bugs, simply bombarding them with Primordial Power was the most foolish method.

"Martial Soul Fire!"

Chu Qingyun let out a soft cry. The Martial Soul Power of his Flame Martial Soul gathered in his palms, and two streams of Martial Soul Fire blazed to life.